Bus ticket program a H.E.L.P. to the homeless in Chico

CHICO -- Lugging heavy packs, skateboards and their leashed service dogs, a Texas couple climbed aboard a Greyhound bus this week and waved goodbye to Chico.

After 25 days of hitchhiking, Maire Manning-Pauc, 20, and Jonathan Devlin, 23, had only been in town a few days. They liked it enough, but instead of continuing to sleep penniless behind grocery stores and panhandling for food, they were ready to go home.

On Wednesday morning, they walked into Chico Police Department to ask about H.E.L.P.

The Homeless Evaluation Liaison Program, which provides bus tickets to people who can get off the street and into the care of family or friends elsewhere, was just what they needed.

"We did the homeward bound," Manning-Pauc said. "It's really cool. People in our situation need to get home."

After a talk with Sgt. David Britt, he met them the next day at the bus station to give them their tickets and some advice, both free of charge.

"I talked to mom. She's all good. She wants you home and she wants you to stay home this time," Britt said.

The young couple, their faces smudged with dirt and shirts showing stains, nodded as he continued.

"This is a one-time trip. You won't get another one from us," Britt said.

A helping hand

H.E.L.P. started in Chico years ago under the lead of officer Bill Dawson. For a while, it operated under the auspices of the TARGET team, but when the team's funding dissolved, the program risked dissolution, too.

Knowing its value, Britt was determined not to let the program go. He took H.E.L.P. under his charge and private donors continued to fund it.

In all, it has helped about 130 people relocate, including about a dozen this year.

Among them are the Eberly family, who were evicted from their home earlier this spring.

Their income was small, with Katie Eberly working as a caretaker for their son with a mental illness, and Joseph Eberly disabled by a shoulder injury. Hotels quickly ate up their savings and the Eberlys worried they and their three children, ages 3, 8 and 10, could end up on the streets.

"It was kind of scary to make sure that we had money for a roof over our heads and making sure we had food," Katie Eberly said by phone.

Her sister-in-law in Portland had said they could live with her if they could find a way to get there.

H.E.L.P. gave them bus tickets to Oregon and reunited them with their family. They hope to soon move into their own place and the Eberly children are excited to soon start at new schools.

"I think it's probably one of the best programs there is out there," Katie Eberly said. "A lot of people would have a home or something if they had a way to get there, and they often don't."

Help for those who want it

Britt emphasizes that the program is entirely voluntary.

"When we first started, they said, 'Oh, they are pulling people out from under the bridges and forcing them on a bus'," he said.

Instead, it's homeless people who ask for help or officers who connect with those in need. Before buying a ticket, Britt contacts the family or friend they say will take them in to make sure it's a stable environment and that they want to help.

"In good conscience, we don't send somebody to be homeless somewhere else," he said.

The success rate is high, and Britt checks in with people months or years later to see how they are doing.

"It's really effective in getting people off the street," he said. "We throw only a little money at it and it makes a big difference."

Tickets usually cost between $100 and $200 per person. Destinations have included Alaska, Florida, Illinois and Nevada, and rehabilitation centers in Sacramento or Oakland.

They've helped people young and old, both the chronically homeless and those who stumble upon hard times. Some have been in Chico for years, and others just "as a stop on the homeless highway," Britt said.

Lynn Jones admits it was her fault she ended up in Chico with no way to get home to Milton-Freewater, Ore. She came to visit a boyfriend and never expected he would not help her return.

"I had no money, no savings, I had no clue what to do," she said by phone from Oregon.

She thought she would have to hitchhike — a terrifying concept for a woman on her own, she said. Then she found H.E.L.P., which put her on a bus home in May.

"Dear God, that was the most amazing thing for me," she said. "To know somebody is there to help you, that makes it much less scary."

Every community should have a program like this, Jones said.

"I know I can't be the only one," she said. "There are a lot of other women out there like me."

The ticket home

The Police Department had already made contact with Manning-Pauc and Devlin before they showed up seeking bus fare. They were weeks into their hitchhiking adventure, which they started after one was fired from their job and the other quit.

They left the home Manning-Pauc owns and went to Bakersfield, Pismo Beach and Arcata before thumbing their way along Highway 299 to Redding. Once in Chico, they realized they would never make it back to Texas before Devlin's upcoming traffic court date.

When Britt called Manning-Pauc's mother, she told him she had been worried and would do anything to keep the two home again.

"People see these guys and think nobody wants them," Britt said. "But no matter how far they've gone, no matter what they've done, their families want them back," he said.

At the bus station, Britt checked that they had snacks for the two-day journey and stuck around to ensure they boarded the bus.

"I've never been on a Greyhound before," said Manning-Pauc with a grin.

They pulled out blankets for the ride and stowed their belongings in the bus' undercarriage. Nearly 2,000 miles later, when they reach for their longboards in Bryan-College Station to skate home, one will carry a symbol of the town that got them there.